State Council urges ministries to draft power and responsibility lists

Updated:
Jan 5,2016 2:30 PM
english.gov.cn

The State Council issued a circular on Jan 5 to ministries, urging them to draft lists of their administrative power and responsibility, amid reforms to improve the country’s governance system and capability.

The test, covering the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Culture, General Administration of Customs, State Administration of Taxation, and China Securities Regulatory Commission, is expected to be accomplished by the end of 2016.

The efforts will set stipulations that are the basis of power and responsibility, according to the State Council.

Government departments involved in the test should submit their lists to the central government by the end of June, after reviewing the items.

The central government will review the submitted lists. In addition, during the review process of items to be canceled or delegated to lower-level governments, a third-party review system will be established and opinions from related departments and local governments will be considered.

For items that will be kept, government departments are required to improve the efficiency and standardization of the administrative processes based on the principles of transparency, efficiency, and convenience, the State Council said.

The State Council also said the test should be coordinated with reforms of streamlining administration and delegating power to lower-level governments, optimizing government services, and transforming government functions, so that the public can see the resulting changes of the reforms.

Government departments not involved in the current test can refer to the circular and prepare for the next steps of establishing their power and responsibility lists, the State Council said.